The New York State Legislature has passed a bill that would impose a two-year moratorium on the use of fossil-fuel power plants to provide energy to miners of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, but Governor Kathy Hochul's office on Monday said she had not yet decided whether to sign it.
Cryptocurrency mining requires a lot of electricity to power computer systems that compete to solve mathematical puzzles to validate blockchain transactions. The miner who solves the puzzle first is rewarded with cryptocurrency.
The State Assembly passed the bill in April and the Senate passed it late last week. The governor's office said on Monday she was still weighing whether to sign the bill."There is a balancing act involved here, very much a balancing act," the governor said in a statement on Monday.
To prevent cryptocurrency mining from increasing greenhouse gas emissions, the bill would impose a moratorium on air permit issuance and renewal for an electric generating facility that utilizes a carbon-based fuel and provides energy used by crytocurrency mining operations.Reporting by Scott DiSavino; Editing by David GregorioSign up to our tech newsletter to get the latest news and trends in the global technology industry.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
NY Governor Urged to Support Bill Protecting Vaccine PrivacyPrivacy advocates are urging New York Gov. Kathy Hochul to sign a bill that would protect sensitive information gathered from people being vaccinated against COVID-19. Advocates say the sharing of information could be misused by a raft of entities, including authorities who the New York Civil Liberties Union suggests could use that data in criminal proceedings. That possibility could be having a chilling effect in the rate of vaccinations among some groups, and hinder public health efforts against the pandemic and other health crises. The proposed law also has wider ramifications. With the recent spread of monkeypox, some health advocates worry that the sharing of information collected in administering vaccines for the disease could result in privacy violations.
Read more »
Starbucks closing NY cafe in what union calls retaliation: reportThe workers’ union representing Starbucks' workers at a cafe in New York State claims the location is being closed by the company as retaliation for unionizing.
Read more »